Late this afternoon I went into the Bear Creek Greenbelt to look at the westside (West of Estes) Great Horned Owl nest. The nest is gone! Perhaps it broke apart as the owlets got larger. It had been a Cooper’s Hawk nest last year, so it wasn’t as large as, say, a Red-tailed Hawk nest. The two owlets are clinging to branches. Here’s Mama Great Horned Owl with the two owlets:

Great Horned Owls
Another view:

Great Horned Owls
It was very hot (high 80s) and sunny. At one point, Mama Great Horned Owl flew to a more shaded branch on a nearby tree. To cool down, she dropped her wings and employed gular fluttering (where she opens her mouth and vibrates her throat tissues to rapidly pump air back and forth in her system, a form of evaporative cooling).

Great Horned Owl
However, an American Crow showed up and harassed her.

Great Horned Owl
Meanwhile, back at the former nest, one of the two owlets found shade the best it could and the other worked on its climbing skills.

Great Horned Owlets
Mama Great Horned Owl eventually flew back to the former nest and perched above the owlets, perhaps to shade them and shield them from the crows.

Great Horned Owls